Hire Responsibly: Avoid These 3 Hiring Mistakes!

Do you wanna know the biggest thing I heard from clients when they come to me to help them with their hiring strategy and with finding the right candidate? 

“Oh my gosh, Meg, I wish I would have known this sooner!” 

Usually when this happens, it’s when we’re going over expectations and common misconceptions about the hiring process. And trust me when I say… these are game-changers! 

I know you want to hire responsibly — as in, hire quickly, find the right person, onboard them smoothly, and treat them well. But it’s not exactly that easy, as you probably know.

So let’s talk about the three hiring mistakes I see almost every employer make when trying to hire responsibly, and what they should be doing instead! 

Mistake #1: Looking for a unicorn

I’m going to be a little blunt here: unicorns don’t exist. The kind with the horn on its head AND the kind that’s a do-it-all employee who will stay with you forever for a super-low salary. Actually, I’d argue that the horned unicorn is more likely to be real than that mythical employee. 

If you’re used to working as a solopreneur, you’re not going to wake up tomorrow and hire a unicorn of a candidate who can serve as your VA, OBM, social media manager, chief marketing officer, head of HR, head of payroll… 

You get the idea. That’s a lot of job titles for one person to handle. 

Instead, if you are looking to make your first hire and want to attract an amazing candidate who will give you their best work, you need to get very specific about the role you’re hiring for. 

Sit back and take a few days to decide just what you need. Is your schedule a mess? Do you find yourself constantly running late and dropping the ball? Do you really need someone to be your organization fairy? You’re probably looking for an executive VA. 

Or maybe you need someone to run all your social accounts, because trying to respond to every IG DM, keep up a solid posting schedule, make your dancing TikToks, and put out promotional posts is just turning you inside out. If that’s the case, you’re looking for a social media manager. 

So what you need to do, before you even put your first job listing out there, is decide on the exact responsibilities you need to hire for. And be honest with yourself. If you need to hire more than one person because you’re outlining 3 positions’ worth of responsibilities, then that’s exactly what you need to do! 

Mistake #2: Forgetting company culture 

Every company has a culture. If yours isn’t clearly defined yet, this is the perfect opportunity to do so! 

If you’re feeling a bit stuck on your specific culture (which is TOTALLY normal), ask yourself what sort of qualities your ideal candidate would contribute. How would they interact with you and any other employees? What ways would they contribute to greater social causes in the world, either on their own time or via your company? 

This is your chance to find the perfect fit, not just skill-wise by value-wise. The way you’re going to find this person is by outlining and clearly defining your company culture. Anyone who doesn’t fit will be turned off, but everyone who still applies will be doing so because they LOVE the culture you just defined! 

Mistake #3: Not being prepared to hire

Sorry to break it to ya: If you’re not actually ready to hire for the position, you probably won’t find a great candidate. Now, being ready doesn’t have to mean that you’re grossing 6 figures a month and having some robust plan for world domination. 

When I talk about being prepared, I’m talking about knowing exactly who you’re looking for, what the job will entail, and most importantly… how THEY will benefit from taking the job. 

It really is a job ADvertisement, after all! You want your candidates to be sold on the position and your company well before they apply, so the interview process can be all about them selling you on hiring them. 

If all this makes you feel like your head is about to explode and you’re thinking: “No WAY can I do this all alone!” I’ve got great news for you… 

You don’t have to. 

I’ve just partnered up with my amazing friend Kira, CEO of Paradigm Consulting, to extend an exclusive invite to our Hiring VIP Day! That’s right, the three of us (me, Kira, and you!) will spend an entire day together, laying out your hiring process.

We’ll strategize the position, identify your dream candidate, and create the job advert that will attract your best candidates. From there, we’ll build out the hiring journey so you know what to expect!  

We’ll even help you with the onboarding process once you’ve found your match! Sound like your jam? 

Go here to book your VIP Day spot!